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Aberdeen council awards water-tower and transmission-line bids pending federal concurrence; members flag high costs
Summary
The council voted to award bids for the Aberdeen water tower and transmission lines, subject to concurrence from federal and state funding partners; council members noted the award exceeds initial engineer estimates and discussed value engineering.
The City of Aberdeen Council on Aug. 18 voted to award bids for the Aberdeen Water Tower and associated transmission lines, contingent on concurrence from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR). Council members and staff discussed large cost increases since the project was first estimated and described ongoing efforts at value engineering.
Council awarded Schedule A (transmission line) to Dami Construction for $4,669,716.37 and Schedule B (water tower structure) to Landmark Structures of Fort Worth for $8,935,000, with the awards explicitly conditioned on concurrence by EDA and DANR. City Engineer Stu Nelson said Schedule B drew a single bid because several firms declined to bid under the grant’s hard timeline (completion by the end of 2026). Nelson said preserving an approximately $2 million EDA grant made moving forward with the single bid the most viable option.
Nelson reviewed the project history: initial cost estimates were roughly $3–$4 million when the project was first conceptualized; COVID-era supply-chain impacts, longer permitting and FAA coordination for tower siting and other delays extended the timeline and increased cost. He said the city negotiated a site after multiple FAA rejections of earlier locations and that process alone took about 18 months.
Councilmember Johnson described the Schedule B award as “painful” given it exceeded the engineer estimate by roughly $2.4 million and asked whether the council should signal resistance to change orders that would raise the price. Nelson said staff is working with the contractor to identify about $600,000 in potential value-engineering savings but cautioned some of those options require acceptance by engineers and funders.
Councilman Ward made the motion to award the bids subject to EDA and DANR concurrence; the motion carried on roll call. Council members asked staff to continue pursuing value engineering and to make clear to contractors that the council may not be willing to accept significant cost increases through change orders.
What happens next: the awards are pending formal concurrence by EDA and DANR; staff will continue value-engineering work and coordinate with funders and the contractor to finalize the contract and schedule.
